Back from the Dead
by phoenix shotgun 47
Summary: Sydney and Jack didn't fake Vaughn's death, but someone did. A decade later, what happens when the truth is revealed. please RR.
1. Reunion

Title: Back from the Dead

Author: phoenix shotgun 47

Rating: T

SumAmanda: What if Sydney and Jack hadn't faked Vaughn's death, but someone else did? A decade later, what happens when the truth is revealed. This is my first fic. Please R/R

Disclaimer: Alias does not belong to me. If it did, I wouldn't be here. Alias belongs to J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions, etc.

A/N: I first posted this on Allies: Sydney and Vaughn Fanfiction on O O O O 

Chapter One: Reunion 

"Isabelle, Carter, let's go, you're going to be late for school!" Sydney Bristow yelled up the stairs to her two teenage children.

"Coming!" 15 year old Carter yelled as he took the stairs two at a time. He quickly pulled on his jacket and finished his pop tart.

"Hey, Belle, hurry up!" he yelled.

"Okay, I'm ready." 13 year old Isabelle said, coming down the stairs and fixing her hair.

The 2 children followed their mother into the car. It was a quick drive to the middle school. "I'll see you later." Sydney called after Isabelle.

She then pulled into the parking lot of Vartan High School, waved goodbye to Carter, and walked over to her classroom.

Amanda Foreman was the English teacher at Vartan High.

Amanda Foreman was really Sydney Bristow.

Sydney Bristow had changed her identity to Amanda Foreman almost a decade ago. She had just found out she had a son and had safely brought him to the US from France. For the sake of her father and her new family, she agreed to go into hiding. Because there were people who were out to kill her. The same people who had killed the man she loves. The same people who killed the father of her children. The same people who had taken her guardian angel away from them. Now that she had a family, she had quit her old job, only doing a little work for her old employers every now and then. Because Sydney Bristow's life was too dangerous now that she had children.

Sydney Bristow is a spy.

Amanda Foreman is not.

Today was October 1, the day she had met him. The day her heart had stopped. She smiled at the memory. She grasped the watch that she wore everyday. It was his father's watch and it was broken now but it used to keep perfect time. You could set your heart to this watch. It stopped on October 1, the day they met. He had given it to her shortly after his proposal.

The day seemed to drag on. Everything reminded Amanda of her old life. The life she knew she could never have back. It took all her strength to keep from crying.

At the end of the day, she was exhausted and distracted during dinner.

"Hey mom, are you okay?" Isabelle asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Amanda answered her daughter.

"We don't have to stay are our house tonight." Isabelle said, referring to her friends. "We can stay at Alicia's tonight."

"It's ok sweetheart. I don't mind." Isabelle smiled happily and walked back to her friends. Amanda wandered outside to the backyard where Carter and 2 of his friends, plus 2 dads were sitting and talking about sports.

"Anyway, I never liked the Kings." Brad, Carter's best friend said. Sydney's heart beat faster at the mention of the Kings. They had been his favorite team. She shook her head and tried to forget the memory of the many nights they had spent together watching hockey.

There was a loud crash coming form the front of the house. Sydney heard her daughter scream loudly.

"Isabelle!" Sydney yelled as she ran into the room.

When she reached the living room, she saw Isabelle and her 3 best friends, Alicia, Kristen, and Massie being held at gunpoint.

A voice sneered form the doorway. "Ah, Agent Bristow, you look well." A man stepped out of the shadows. "Definitely not dead, no are you?"

Sydney clenched her fists. The men had followed her in and looked like they were ready to attack. "Now, I wouldn't try anything it if were you." Sark said nonchalantly. "One wrong move, and I'll blow their brains out."

"What do you want from me." Grant Bauer asked.

"What makes you think this is about you?" Sark replied. "Now, you will cooperate, or those kids will die." He turned to his men. "Tie them up."

After their hands had been secured by rope, Sark had them transported into a van. "Now, Ms Bristow." He said, taking a seat across form Sydney. "We'll have a little chat after you wake up." Before she could react, a tranquilizer dart hit her in the neck.

When Sydney awoke, she was lying on the cold, damp floor of a cell. She quickly looked around the room. All of them were there and relatively unharmed.

"Good to see you're awake, Sydney." A cold voice said.

Sydney looked up in disbelief as a blond woman took a step toward her. "You." she whispered. "You're dead."

The woman laughed. "Yes, it did seem that way, didn't it? But my poor old husband failed to notice that the person he killed wasn't me. Sound familiar, Sydney?" She took another step closer. "I am here to make your worst nightmares come true."

"Am I supposed to be intimidated by this?" Sydney asked coolly.

Lauren slapped her. Sydney's face stung but she remained unmoving. "We will break you. It will only be a mater of how much you want it to hurt."

"What makes you think that you're going to get any information out of me? How do you know it won't take another 2 years?" Sydney asked.

"Because we have more to play with." Lauren responded with a cruel smile as she gestured around the room.

"Their deaths will not help you." Sydney replied, emotionlessly.

"Oh, we know that Bristow. But their pain will." She answered. "My superior will see you later and offer you a deal." She paused. "If you were smart, you'd accept it." And with that, one of the most evil woman in Sydney's life left the room.

"Mom?" Isabelle said quietly, crawling toward her mother. "What's going on? Why did that woman keep calling you Sydney Bristow?"

"Sydney hung her head. "Honey, there is so much I have to explain. First of all, my name isn't Amanda Foreman." Her eyes stung, recalling a similar conversation like this. "My name is Sydney Bristow. I work for the US government. I can't be anymore specific, but these people want intelligence that I, under no circumstances, am going to give them.

Isabelle looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "You lied to me. And to Carter. Is that even his name? Are you even our real mother? Is he even my brother?" She yelled.

"Of course I am. I just need you to understand that everything I have done is to protect you." Sydney replied. "I know what you're going through. Please just understand that I love you."

"Very touching, Sydney." A woman said, entering the cell.

Sydney looked at her, more tears rushing to her eyes. "So you're Lauren's superior? You're behind all of this?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I am." The woman said, leaning down, and looking Sydney in the eye. "And like she said, I am here to offer you a dead. You tell me where the Horizon is and I'll let everyone go."

"You have got to be kidding me. I will never tell you where the Horizon is." Sydney yelled. "It was his life's work to protect it and I'm not about to sabotage that."

"Sydney, he is gone." The woman stated.

"Because of you!" Sydney spat. "I bet you're the one who orchestrated all of this. My abduction… everything."

"Yes." She answered simply.

"Is this what you mean, when you said 'Truth takes time'. Is this the truth?" Sydney asked choking back tears.

"Yes." She replied again. "I had this all planned out. Why do you think you and him met? That was all because of me. And the pieces fell into place rather well, I should say." She said, smiling.

"How dare you try to control my life. You took 2 years away from me. 2 year of my life. What more do you want from me? you've destroyed the life I loved, and now this one too. You've taken away my job, my home, my friends, and my **family**. What more do you have to take from me?" Sydney was nearly hysterical now. She was shaking with rage as she continued. "Don't you dare talk to me like you set this all up. Don't you dare say that everything was fake. Because it wasn't. I **love** him. I know that was real. You took away the only real thing I had… I fell for you. Even dad fell for you. But he never did. He saw right through you and that's why you got rid of him."

"You should have listened to him while you had the chance." The woman turned away from her and left.

At exactly 7:47, a long glass container was wheeled into the room. Sydney nearly fainted. She recognized what the container was used for. And she knew who was in it. The woman from before entered the room.

"I will make this very simple. This is the very last offer I will present you." She said, leaning against the glass chamber. "You can choose love or freedom."

"Love or freedom." Sydney repeated.

"Yes. You choose freedom; I let you all go. Except for him." she gestured to the cyrogenic chamber. "You choose love, you will all be kept here, but he will live."

"Wake him up. I need to know he's alive. Sydney whispered hoarsely as she kneeled next to the body of the man she had loved for nearly 2 decades and had mourned for 1.

The woman pressed a few buttons and his eyes fluttered open. They grew wider when they saw her.

"Syd. I'm so sorry. It's been so long. I'm so…"

"Sh… stop." Sydney placed her against the glass. "Oh, my god."

"So sweetheart, what's your decision? Love or Freedom." Irina asked, interrupting the moment or happiness.

"No, Syd. Don't sacrifice your freedom for me. Don't do it. I'm not worth it." the man said, begging her with his eyes to escape.

"No, Vaughn. I've given up too much already…" she paused. "I'm not going to lose you again. I just can't. I need you here."

"So I take it you choose love." Irina said. Sydney nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of the man in the glass. "Try anything, if you attempt to breakout, I will press this button which activated the vacuum. It will suck all of the air out of the chamber." She smiled evilly and left.

"You shouldn't have done that." Vaughn whispered.

"Yeah, mom what were you thinking? You shouldn't have done that." Isabelle said, walking over to her mother. Her eyes widened as she saw the man in the chamber. "Oh my god. You look just like someone I know… you look just like Carter." She turned to her brother. "Carter come here."

Vaughn stared up at Sydney with shocked eyes. Then he caught the girl's attention. "Isabelle?"

She gasped and nodded, speechless. Carter had reached them now and was staring at the man. "I've seen you somewhere. In a picture." Then it dawned on him. "Who… who are you?"

Vaughn looked curiously at Sydney. "Carter, Isabelle, this is Michael Vaughn... your father."

"Our what? You said that our dad died!" Carter hissed angrily.

"I thought so too. I really did. But I found him." Sydney had tears in her eyes. Then she talked quickly in French. "When they kidnapped me, I was a few weeks pregnant. My mom was able to take Carter away to a safe family. For some reason I didn't remember until after your 'death'. I searched for a year and finally found him."

Vaughn nodded. "I should have been there for you. I'm sorry." He replied in French.

Carter and Isabelle were staring at their parents. "How do I know that he's really my father. Or that you're really my mother. I didn't even know you could speak another language! Nice to know that my so called parents are completely honest with me." Carter mumbled before walking away.

Before Isabelle followed him, Sydney grabbed her hand. "Belle, I need you to know that everything I have done is to protect you, your brother, your father, and my friends. Everything I have done is because I love you. There are things you are going to find out about your father and I that you will despise, but you need to know that what happened… everything was because I love my family. I know that won't justify my action, but I want to explain myself."

Isabelle nodded slowly. "I understand that." she paused. "But lying to me in the first place, that's where you went wrong. I will never forgive you for deceiving me. I never want to see you again." She walked away and sat down next to her friends.

"Syd." Vaughn mumbled. "Sydney, they'll forgive you. You forgave your father, they'll forgive you and hopefully me."

"God, I hope so." Sydney whispered back.

"Listen, we need to figure out what they want. If we can do that, we might be able to get out of here." Vaughn said.

"They want the Horizon." Sydney said. "But there's gotta be something else."

"The Prophecy." Vaughn whispered. "They think that they're fulfilling it."


	2. Sometimes, The Truth Hurts

Chapter Two: Sometimes, The Truth Hurts

Isabelle flung the harsh words at her mother and walked back to her friends.

"Are you ok?" Alicia asked.

"NO! Do I look ok? I've just found out that my mother has lied to me for my entire life. I am not ok!" Isabelle

hissed.

Alicia backed away from her in shock. "Look, I realize that your family might have um, issues. Just don't take them out on me."

"I'm sorry." Isabelle said. "This is just way too much to take in."

Massie put a hand on Belle's shoulder. "Personally, if I were you, I'd try to forgive your mother." She put her hand up to silence Isabelle's protests. "Just here me out. It sounds like she was trying to protect you two." She looked over at Carter.

Isabelle glanced at her mother. She was hunched over the containing, talking to the man who was apparently her father.

"You don't really expect us to just waltz over there and say, 'We understand that you lied to us for all of our lives, but hey that's ok, we forgive you.' and then start acting like one big happy family." Carter said sarcastically.

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you should maybe think about what they said before you go storming

out and get yourself killed." Massie shot back at him.

Carter slumped back against the wall and ran his hands through his hair. Isabelle tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The siblings talked together quietly for an hour before they had made a decision.

Carter slowly got up and pulled Isabelle to her feet. Together, they walked over to their parents.

Sydney tore her eyes off of Vaughn when Carter and Isabelle took as seat beside her.

"Mom…" Isabelle said quietly.

"Listen Isabelle, your father and I were talking and we know there are a lot of things you don't know. And we

will tell you exactly what you deserve to know." Sydney said.

"Thank you." Carter said. His eyes met his father's. "Dad?"

"Carter, Isabelle… I can't tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you… or your mother." Vaughn wheezed. He had a sudden fit of coughing.

"Vaughn? Vaughn, breath, honey." Sydney said.

Vaughn continued to cough. Soon he was coughing up blood.

"Dad!" Carter yelled. "What's going on?" Isabelle was paralyzed with fear and couldn't move.

"I don't know. Michael? Michael! Help! We need help in here!" Sydney yelled. She pounded on the door. A guard opened the door slowly, his weapon drawn.

"What is going on here?" He asked in a thick Russian accent.

"We need a doctor. He's coughing up blood." Sydney said.

"That is your problem not mine." He sneered, slamming the door shut.

"No!" Sydney screamed. She ran back to Vaughn. He had stopped coughing, but the chamber was now a bloody mess. Blood was still pouring from his nose and mouth. "Michael, nod if you can breath." He nodded slowly. "Oh, god. What's going on?"

Irina burst through the door. 2 doctors followed her along with 5 guards. They pushed Sydney, Carter, and Isabelle out of the way while the doctors wheeled Vaughn out.

"Where are you taking him?" Sydney yelled, fighting against the guards.

"Somewhere we can operate." Irina said. "It seems like the treatments backfired."

"What treatments?" Sydney asked. Irina ignored her and walked out.

"DAD!" Isabelle shrieked, finally finding her voice. "DADDY!" One of the guards pushed her down on the ground before they left.

"Belle are you ok?" Sydney said, the tears starting to fall.

"Yeah… but dad…"

"We'll get him back. Don't worry." Carter said.

O O O O O 

"Sir, we've just reviewed the surveillance video of Sydney's house and we found this." Marshall Flinkman said to Jack Bristow, pulling up the footage.

There was a clear image of Sark on the screen, pointing his gun at Isabelle and her friends. Sydney then appeared in the room, followed by Carter and his friends. Then Sark's men entered and bound them all.

"Now, that's all that I was able to recover so far. They did a really good job and erased most of it. I mean really good. Like almost Flinkman good. Almost." he chuckled but stopped when Jack shot him his infamous glare. "Um... right,so the cameras in the front yard weren't working though, so I have no idea what vehicle they're in or where they went." Marshall said.

"Is it possible to retrieve the video?" Jack asked.

"Well, yes, it is. It might take awhile. But yes, I guess it's possible." Marshall said, playing with the pen in his hands. Suddenly, a long thick cord shot out of the pen and landed on Jack's tie. "Oh, sorry, sir. I forgot that this pen had a cable inside it…" Jack attempted to pull it off but failed. "Oh, and it has um, this special adhesive on the end… you won't be able to take it off that easily. I designed it so that you could like shoot at the ceiling and then like, ride up to the top. It's still in the beginning stages but you know, and I've been the only one to test it…" Marshall stopped as Jack shoved his tie into his hands.

"Go work on the video surveillance. That is your number one priority. You can worry about my tie as soon as my daughter and grandchildren are safe." He barked.

Marshall nodded quickly, grabbed his briefcase, and practically ran out of the room.

Jack summoned an emergency meeting.

"We have confirmed that Sydney, Carter, Isabelle, and a few of their friends were abducted by Julian Sark. We're still going over the video feed to try and find out where he took them and why. I want you to investigate every single person we know Sark has had contact with in the last year. If we know his motives or who he's working for, we might have an idea of where he took them."

Rachel, Tom, Dixon, Weiss, and Nadia left the room and headed toward their workstations.

An hour later, Dixon entered the room with a file in his hands. "Sark had been in constant contact with Irina Derevko in the past 7 months. And we've found this picture."

Jack flipped open the file. It was a picture of Irina Derevko with Julian Sark and…

"Lauren Reed?"

"I've had Marshall run it through the face recognition program. It's a 94.7 match." Dixon said.

"Do we have any idea where they've set up their headquarters or what they want?" Jack asked, quickly skimming through the file.

"No, but knowing what we do, it's got to be something about Rambaldi. Specifically, the Horizon." Dixon replied.

"Rambaldi again." Jack muttered, shaking his head. "I want Tom and Rachel to look into Sark's, Irina's, and Lauren's movements during the past 6 months. We might be able to find a pattern. I want you, Nadia, and Weiss to look at old Covenant, Alliance, and Prophet Five headquarters and rendezvous points and see if any have been active." Dixon nodded and headed out of Jack's office.

Jack walked over to his phone. He had an idea of where Irina was. The phone rang 3 times before the man picked up.

"Hello."

"Bill, its Jack. I need a favor."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." The man replied in a thick French accent.

"Bill, this is about Sydney." Jack quickly explained the situation. "Can you look into Irina's old Russian safehouses? She has no idea I know about these, so it would be a logical place for her to go."

"Alright, I will do that." Bill replied.

"Thank you William." Jack before he hung up.


	3. Leo 47 Norte

Disclaimer: Alias isn't mine.

A/N: Hey guys, this is going to be the last chapter for a couple of weeks. I'm going off to Las Vegas and then to LA. Some parts might be confusing, but I still need someone to beta this for me and my best friend's dad just died this morning…

So here's the next chapter O O O O O Chapter Three: Leo 47-Norte 

Jack sat by his phone waiting. He had been for the last 3 hours. Finally, it rang.

"Hello?"

"You were right. He's at an old abandoned warehouse. I'm sending you the coordinates now." Bill said.

Jack turned to his computer. A message popped up. He quickly opened it. Inside there was the coordinate of the warehouse. Bill had also included pictures of the warehouse and the cell that Sydney and the others were being held in.

"I couldn't get a count on the guards, but there are some pretty sophisticated equipment there." He paused. "Take a look at that last picture."

Jack opened it up. It was a photo of Michael Vaughn, bloody and beaten, being operated on.

"Did you have any idea he was alive?" Bill asked.

"No, I honestly didn't know, Bill." Jack said. "What are they doing to him?"

"That's exactly what I want to know." Bill replied. "Contact me… when they're all safe. It's about time he learns the truth."

O O O O O 

Days after she had left, Irina walked back into the cell holding her daughter.

"So, Sydney, I hope I'm getting an answer this time. There is the Horizon?" She asked.

Sydney remained silent and just glared at her.

Surprisingly, Irina felt no pity for her daughter.

"You lied to me." Sydney said, breaking the silence.

"Sometimes the truth hurts." Irina replied.

"Where is Vaughn?" Sydney asked.

"He's in good hands, though I have to say, I'm quite disappointed by this unfortunate turn of events." Irina said nonchalantly.

"What did you do to him?" Isabelle asked. "What did you do to my father?"

Irina laughed. "You're already defending him, now are you? You don't even no half of the story." She motioned to the guards outside the door. They entered and grabbed Isabelle. "We'll see you in a little while."

Isabelle kicked and screamed, but she couldn't get free.

"No! Don't touch her let her go!" Carter yelled. He lunged for the guards. Sydney pulled him back.

"Let her go! She doesn't know a thing. She isn't part of this." Sydney yelled.

"You have no idea exactly how big of a part your children will play." Irina sneered.

The others shouted, begged, for them to let Isabelle go. But their please went unheard. Irina had slammed the door behind her as she left.

O O O O O 

Jack Bristow and his team of agents were waiting outside the warehouse in Russia. He activated his comm and whispered. "This is Raptor. What do you see, Merlin."

"Well, right now, from what I can access, Vaughn is in the OR in the eastern wing of the warehouse, first floor. They're taking Isabelle into what looks like a… it looks like an interrogation room, it's on the second floor, 6th door on the left. Sydney and the others are together in a cell, um… it's on the underground level, the 1st door you hit."

"Alright, Nadia, Dixon, I want your team to get Sydney. Weiss your team gets Vaughn. My team, we're going to get Isabelle. Tom, Rachel, I want your teams to look for Irina Derevko, Julian Sark, and Lauren Reed. Do not let them get away. Marshall, keep us posted." Jack said. "On my signal… go!"

O O O O O 

Isabelle was strapped into a large chair with leather straps. A blond woman entered the room.

"Hello Isabelle. It's just a pleasure to finally meet you." She said, pulling white latex gloves on.

"Who are you?" Isabelle asked. "What do you want?"

"I'm Lauren Reed, your father's ex-wife. And what I want is information." Lauren didn't pause to let Isabelle digest this new piece of information. "I think you might be able to give me what I want.'

"What! I'm not a spy. I don't know anything!" Isabelle said. She watched nervously as Lauren pulled out a syringe and filled it with bright led liquid.

She laughed. "We know **you're** not a spy. But there might have been a conversation you overheard, or a piece of paper you saw that contains the information you want." Without warning, Lauren jabbed the sharp instrument into Isabelle's neck.

Isabelle cried out in surprise. She soon found that she was unable to move her fingers and toes. The paralysis soon spread to her legs and arms.

"Oh, I might have forgotten to mention a common side effect." Lauren said, noticing the panic on the girl's face. "You won't be able to move for a few minutes, possibly hours." She bent down and looked Isabelle in the eye. "Where is the Horizon?"

Isabelle's mind involuntarily searched through memories that she didn't even know she had.

Flashback 

_Isabelle had just woken up from her nap and wandered toward her mother's room. The door was open just a crack and she saw her mother on the phone, her back to the door._

"_I don't know what it is… the only thing I know about the Horizon is that it has something to do with Leo-47-Norte."_

_Isabelle put her hand on the door and slowly pushed it open. Her mother turned around._

"_I've got to go. Isabelle's up. Bye dad."_

End Flashback 

Isabelle was once again startled by this revelation. Her grandfather was alive, and he was a spy. How many "dead" family members was she going to meet this week?

"Where is the Horizon?" Lauren's icy voice interrupted her thoughts.

Isabelle told herself not to say anything, but her mouth had a different idea.

"It's ah, Leo…" She paused and felt a bead of sweat run down her forehead. "… 47-Norte…"

Just then, the door was kicked open. 5 masked agents dressed in all back and carrying large guns stormed the room. They shot down Lauren and the 3 other guards quickly.

One of the agents ran over to her and pulled off his mask. He had short graying hair and a stony expression.

"Isabelle are you ok?" he asked.

"I… ah… yeah… can't move but… who are you." There were so many questions running through her head.

"I'm Jack Bristow. Your grandfather." He began to cut through the straps that were binding her. "We've got the others. You don't have to worry."

Jack picked Isabelle up and walked out of the torture chamber.

"What did they want?" he asked the scared girl.

"Something called the Horizon." She answered.

"Did you tell them anything?"

"I… I told them Leo-47-Norte." Isabelle said. "I… I'm sorry."

"It's ok, we're going to fix this." Jack activated the comm in his ear. "Search the buildings. I want to know if anyone else could have witnessed Isabelle's interrogation.

Jack received another message over the comm. As soon as he heard it, he broke into a sprint. A flood of light hit him as he ran outside and toward the extraction point.

O O O O O 

"It's ah… Leo… 47-Norte."

As soon as the words had left Isabelle's lips, Irina had jumped up and gathered her equipment. She flicked a series of switches before running out of the room. She ran up the stairs and toward the awaiting elevator. She had seen her ex-husband on the cameras and knew it was only a matter of time before he started to look for her.

She pulled out her cell phone and called the pilot or the helicopter. "Get ready, we're leaving for France." She snapped the phone shut and stuffed it back in her pocket.

One floor away from the roof, a door flew open. 2 CIA agents walked out. Irina saw them and used her momentum to knock one of them off his feet. She swung her bag around and knocked the other agent unconscious before kicking the first one in the stomach. He crashed into the wall and lay still.

That was too easy, she though with a smile.

She pushed the final door open and was hit by a strong wind from the helicopter blades. Quickly covering the last few feet, she leapt into the helicopter and slammed the door shut. She habitually tucked a stray strand of her brunette hair behind her ear.

The pilot took off almost before she was completely inside the vehicle. Irina glanced down and saw a few CIA agents run onto the roof. She smirked.

They were too late.


	4. The Escape

Disclaimer: Alias isn't mine.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, vacation was great though. Thanks so much to my wonderful beta.

O> O> O> O> O>

Chapter Four: The Escape

Sydney hadn't stood still for one second since Vaughn and Isabelle were taken. She looked at every single inch of the cell, looking for a flaw, anything to help them escape.

Carter watched his mother pace around the cell. Millions of questions where flooding into his brain. There was so much he needed to know. He opened his mouth to speak, but a loud bang resounded before her could say a word.

Sydney was on her feet when the door was violently kicked open. She was about to throw a punch at the intruders when she saw the face of an old friend.

"Nadia!" Sydney exclaimed in surprise.

"Sydney, thank god you're alright." Nadia said pulling her into a quick hug.

"We don't have time." Sydney said, throwing a brief smile at Dixon, who had just entered the room. "They've got Isabelle, and Vaughn…"

"Syd, we know. Jack is getting Isabelle, and Weiss is dealing with Vaughn." Dixon said.

"Well I'm not just going to stand around here. I'm going after Lauren." Sydney replied.

"Alright." Dixon replied tossing her a gun. "Nadia, stay with the others until the backup team gets here." Nadia nodded as Sydney and Dixon left.

They reached a door at the end of the corridor. On Dixon's signal, Sydney flung the door open.

Their efforts were irrelevant for the room was deserted. Sydney cautiously lowered her gun and glanced around the room.

The room was completely white, resembling an institution. Sydney opened a nearby cabinet and found that it was filled with DNA samples. Dixon walked over to a table covered with files. He opened one.

"Syd, come her." Dixon said, opening up more files.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Look."

It was a file on Carter. His whole life had been documented. It listed his grades, the sports he played, his favorite foods, even his favorite color. There was a file on Isabelle too. And one of Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon and his children, Tom, Rachel, Nadia, Weiss, Jack, Marshall, Carrie, Mitchell, and so many more people.

"What is all of this for?"

"It looks like their researching our DNA." Dixon stated.

"Genetic mutation?" Sydney asked.

"Maybe." Dixon pulled out a small camera and began to photograph the files.

"Guys, this is Mockingbird. There's a bomb about to detonate in less than 90 seconds. We need to evacuate the premise." Rachel yelled to Dixon over the comm link.

"Copy that." Dixon said. "We've got to get out of here. A bomb's going to go off." He took one final picture of the room before following Sydney out the door.

O> O> O> O> O>

On Jack's signal, Tom and Rachel led their team through the west wing of the building. "Merlin, have you found anything?" Rachel asked.

"I can't find the source of the signal… okay, hold on… right, take the next flight of stairs and it should be the 4th door on the left."

When Rachel and Tom burst into the room, it was vacant.

"She's going for the roof!" Tom shouted. He motioned the men to start heading up. Rachel grabbed his arm.

"We have to get out of here. It's a bomb." She motioned to the bomb on the table.

"Can't you just disable it? Tom asked, taking a step forward to examine the bomb.

"Not in 90 seconds." Rachel said.

"Damn it!" A gunshot rang out outside the room. Tom and Rachel drew their guns and pushed open the door. One of their men was laying against the wall dead.

They heard footsteps pound the floor. Tom took off after the killer, with Rachel trailing him.

She activated her comm. "Guys, this is Mockingbird. There's a bomb about to detonate in less than 90 seconds. We need to evacuate the premise."

O> O> O> O> O>

Eric Weiss ran down the hall of the eastern wing. He reached the OR and signaled his team to stay quiet.

He peered in. There were only 2 doctors and it looked like Vaughn was all stitched up. He shoved the door open and shot one of the doctors. The other doctor was down in just a few seconds.

Weiss walked over to his friend. "Good to see you man." Weiss said. A medic began to examine Vaughn.

"Yeah, same here. But Sydney…"

"We've got things under control." Weiss said. "I've got Vaughn. What're the other's status?"

"Jack's almost got Isabelle. Sydney is with Dixon and Nadia is with the others. We haven't heard back from Tom and Rachel yet, but they're fine." Marshall squeaked.

"They're fine." Weiss said. "What did they do to you?"

"They had me locked up for the first 2 years. I got out for a while but they just caught me again. After that, I can't really remember. I know I was put into a cryogenic chamber… and that's where I was when I woke up and saw Sydney… but that's all I remember." Vaughn replied.

They sat in silence as the medic wrapped up the quick examination.

"Guys, this is Mockingbird. There's a bomb about to detonate in less than 90 seconds. We need to evacuate the premise." Rachel said over the comm.

"Let's go guys." Weiss said. He took charge of Vaughn's gurney and wheeled him out of the building.

Vaughn looked up and saw a helicopter take off from the top of the building. They were a few hundred feet away from the building before the bombs exploded. The whole building crumbled to the ground.

O> O> O> O> O>

Nadia lead the prisoners out of the building and to the van.

"Hey, Evergreen. Sark is headed your way." Marshall said.

"Copy that." She designated a few agents to stay with the Carter and his friends.

"Guys, this is Mockingbird. There's a bomb about to detonate in less than 90 seconds. We need to evacuate the premise." Rachel said over the comm.

"I'm not letting Sark get away." Nadia said.

She and 5 other agents followed Marshall's directions. They spotted Sark running toward a boat. Nadia took careful aim and hit Sark right in the leg. He collapsed and yelled in pain.

Tom and Rachel soon appeared, running after Kelly Peyton. Nadia's team opened fire on her. Sark shouted for her help but she didn't come. She didn't even turn back. She just kept running. Rachel managed to hit her in the arm, but that didn't faze her. She jumped on the boat and was soon out of sight.

"We've got Sark. Peyton got away. She's on a boat headed south." Nadia said to Marshall as her team bound Sark.

"Alright, I'll just reposition some of these satellites… ok, we're tracking her." Marshall replied.

"Good." Nadia said.

They ran back to the extraction point. The building exploded moments after the got there. Screams erupted from the civilians they had rescued.

"Mom!" Carter screamed. "Where is she?"

"It's ok, she's probably just at the other extraction point we set up." Nadia said to her nephew.

_God please let everyone be ok. Please let them have gotten out._ Nadia prayed silently.

O> O> O> O> O>


	5. Truth Be Told

Sorry for not posting last week. To make up for it, I've posted 2 chapters. I will be gone from June 27-July 4 and July 8-15.

O O O O O

Chapter Five: Truth Be Told

Vaughn was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital, to ensure that he was stitched up properly. Sydney had wanted to go with him, but her father had convinced her to stay with Carter and Isabelle. That was why Jack Bristow was sitting in Vaughn's hospital room as the doctor examined him.

"Everything looks ok." The doctor said. "They stitched you up perfectly. Just don't run a marathon for a few weeks and you'll be just fine.

When he was declared fit for travel, Jack led him out to their CIA issued car. Jack stepped into the driver's side but didn't start the engine.

"Jack, shouldn't we be… going?" Vaughn asked tentatively.

Jack sighed. "Mr. Vaughn, there is something you should know."

There was an awkward silence.

"Your father is alive." Jack said monotonously.

"My father is what?" Vaughn asked as Jack pulled out of the parking lot.

"Your father was recruited by an agency Prophet Five to decipher a book. Then members of his team started to be killed. Irina had apparently been a small contributor to Prophet Five. From what your father has told me, it seems that he made a deal with Irina in exchange for his freedom."

"Are you going to be telling me what the deal was?" Vaughn asked impatiently.

"Irina had just gotten pregnant. The KGB had found out and wanted her baby. When Bill approached her, she took advantage of his offer. She agreed to fake his death if he gave her his daughter. He faked your sister's death and gave her to Irina. So Irina took your sister to the KGB and she was treated with Project Christmas. They didn't find out about what she did until later and that's when Irina turned her full attention to running Prophet Five."

"So, my dad is alive and I have a sister who has been working with the KGB." Vaughn repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, but your sister isn't working with the KGB. Your father watched her like a hawk after Irina took her. After Irina left and with a little of my help, he infiltrated the KGB and was able to get your sister, Evangeline, out. Since then, they've been traveling a lot, staying away from Prophet Five. After we presumed you were dead, they contacted me with information proving otherwise. I've been working with them to locate you. We've come close so many times, but this was our break. We were finally able to isolate the facility you were being kept in."

"So when am I going to get to see them?" Vaughn asked.

"We have to see how Prophet Five reacts to this. Irina might start looking for your father again. We don't know. They're just going to keep moving around and when the time is right, they'll get to L.A." Jack replied. "The only other person who knows about this is Dixon. I felt that it would be best if you told Sydney. They are the only people you can talk with about this." Jack parked the car and headed toward the private jet.

Vaughn followed closely, his mind spinning with millions of questions.

O O O O O

Sydney and Dixon led the civilians to the transport plane. While they were boarding, Dixon pulled Sydney aside.

"Syd, Jack and I talked about this and we decided that we need to debrief the children. We know it's dangerous, but it's better for them to know the truth now, than find out like you did."

"It seems that my dad is finally learning from his mistakes." Sydney replied quietly.

Sydney sat back in the plane with Carter and Isabelle, waiting for her father and Vaughn so they could begin the debriefing.

Her thoughts wandered back to the day she had thought he was gone forever.

**Flashback**

_It had been a simple mission. Just a routine meet. Nothing too dangerous or risky._

_But of course, things didn't go as planned._

_Sydney and Vaughn were going to be on point, while Marshall, Jack, and Weiss were backup._

"_Well isn't it a lovely day here?" Sydney asked, clutching onto Vaughn's arm, playing the part of the perfect tourist wife. They were strolling the garden, which had a perfect view of Taal Volcano._

"_Yeah, now if you could just do something about the heat and the bugs, it would be perfect." Vaughn muttered back._

_Sydney laughed. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad."_

"_Well, it is beautiful here." Vaughn replied sighing._

"_Phoenix, Shotgun, your contact should be sitting at the table by the window." Jack said. He turned to Marshall. "Go thermal."_

_Sydney and Vaughn walked into the cool air-conditioned restaurant. They spotted their contact, sitting at the table, sipping a glass for wine._

"_Something's wrong." Vaughn whispered, pulling Sydney back._

"_What is it?" She asked. She hadn't noticed anything peculiar._

"_I juts… I have a feeling…" Suddenly, a small bomb was thrown through the window of the restaurant, killing their contact. "Go!" Vaughn shouted._

_Sydney ran toward the door, only to be stopped by a tall, husky guard. She grabbed a nearby tray and struck him on the head. The guard feel back, stunned. As she ran past, he grabbed onto her ankle. She twisted her foot around and stabbed her heal into his arm. The guard immediately let go of her and yelled in pain._

_Another bomb went off, filling the building with smoke. She heard her father yelling orders to Marshall and Weiss, but didn't have time to respond._

_As she ran out onto the terrace, she noticed that Vaughn wasn't with her._

"_Shotgun!" She yelled, no response. "Shotgun!" She started to run back toward the restaurant._

"_Raptor, what's going on with Shotgun?" she asked._

"_He's in the west wing." Weiss replied. "We're coming."_

_Sydney nodded to herself and ran toward the kitchen. She kicked the door open and found Vaughn battling a tall blond agent. Without breaking her run, she grabbed two stray knives on the counter and flung them at the agent, killing him. Vaughn rushed over toward her, grabbed her hand, and ran out toward the extraction point._

_Sydney felt Vaughn drop suddenly. She sees the bright red blood oozing from the wound in his chest. She rushed over to him, but before she could reach him, his assailant cut her off._

_The woman shot Sydney in the shoulder, causing her to reel backwards, back onto the terrace. Sydney pulled out a knife, hidden in her dress and tossed it at her attacker. The woman dove out of the way, unscratched. Instead, she threw herself at Sydney, knocking her to the ground. Sydney rolled over, trying to push the enemy off or get an advantage._

_Suddenly, the red-haired woman lifted her head. She gave Sydney a final punch in the face and ran to the other end of the terrace. Sydney struggled to get up and chased after her. A helicopter surfaced out of its hiding place among the trees. A ladder quickly lowered and the woman climbed up with ease. Sydney found a gun, but she was too far away._

_Then she remembered Vaughn. Mentally slapping herself, she ran back toward the restaurant. It was then charred from the fire that's still raging inside. The screams of the innocent customers echoed as her feet pounded the soft grass._

_Without warning, the entire building exploded. Sydney was knocked off her feet. Debris showered down on her and she found it hard to breathe. The enormous amount of smoke didn't help either. She lifted her head and screamed out his name._

"_Shotgun!" her comm no longer worked._

_She saw him, near the edge of the mountain, fighting with another agent. He was wounded and he was losing a lot of blood. She looked around for a weapon she could use, but only found a long piece of wood. She ran toward them and tossed the projectile like a javelin. It hit the man in the shoulder, but he didn't turn his attention to her. Instead, he pushed Vaughn off the edge of the cliff._

"_VAUGHN!" She screamed in terror as she watched him plummet to lake below. "Raptor, this is Phoenix. Shotgun was just pushed over the side of the cliff." She said, trying to control her breathing but failing miserably._

_She stumbled toward the edge, her dress ripped, her face dirty and tear-streaked. Her father ran over to her, grabbing her arm._

"_Phoenix, we need to get out of here!" he yelled._

"_But… Vaughn…" She began only to be cut off by another bomb._

"_We can't worry about him right now. Weiss is trying to find him. We need to get you out." They ran toward the extraction point as another shower of explosions bombard the property._

_They reach the van and waited anxiously for Weiss to return. The minutes ticked by before Weiss responded on his comm._

"_Raptor, I've got nothing. I could expand my search but…" Weiss trails off. "It's not likely he'd be able to swim with the wound in his chest. If he was… alive, he would have broken the surface for air by now._

"_Houdini, head to the extraction point before more of their agents come." He turned to Sydney. "There's nothing we can do. There aren't enough of us…"_

_Sydney nodded and silently let the tears fall. She couldn't believe that in an instant, she lost him. She didn't want to believe it._

**End Flashback**

"Sydney, Syd… wake up." Sydney felt Vaughn shaking her slightly. Her eyes quickly fluttered open.

"Hm…" She yawned, stretching her arms.

"It's time for the briefing." Vaughn whispered, helping her to her feet.

She followed him to the secluded compartment at the back of the plane. When they entered, she found Carter, Isabelle, her father, and Dixon waiting for them.

Sydney and Vaughn took their seats and then Dixon began to speak.

"Well, I think all of us knew that this day was going to come eventually." He turned to the teens. "The information you are about to here is classified. You cannot repeat a single word of it to anyone. If you do, your lives… all of our lives will be put in even more danger than usual. So I guess we'll start from the beginning."

Sydney nodded and began to explain. "When I entered college, I was approached by an agency called SD-6. They told me they were a black ops group of the CIA and wanted to recruit me. I joined them and worked for them for 7 years under a man named Arvin Sloane."

"Then, I got engaged to a man named Danny Hecht. I told him about my life as a spy… but when the head of SD-6 found out, he had him murdered. I went to the only place I could think of, the CIA. That's when I learned the truth. SD-6 wasn't a hidden branch of the CIA. I'd been working for the very people I thought I was fighting against. I accepted a double agent role at the real, good CIA where my handler was your father, Michael Vaughn." She gestured to the man sitting next to her.

"That's when I found out that your grandfather was also working undercover at SD-6. I learned that your grandmother, Irina Derevko also known as Laura Bristow, hadn't really died in a car accident, she was a KGB agent that killed William Vaughn, your grandfather, on your father's side." Sydney noted the uncomfortable look Vaughn threw at her father.

"We continued to counter all of SD-6's moves and eventually brought them down. Arvin Sloane got away so we pursued him. 6 months after the downfall of SD-6, Sydney… your mother, was abducted." Vaughn said. "They had murdered her best friend and sent in a genetic double. Your mother found out and they fought. They both passed out. The Covenant kidnapped her and made it look like she died. They burned her house down and planted fake remains."

"During the two years I was missing, they tried to brainwash me. But it didn't work. I pretended to believe that I was Julia Thorne and once they trusted me, I contacted the CIA. They ordered me to stay and double for them. I had my memory erased and finally returned to L.A." Sydney said, glancing at Vaughn.

Vaughn sighed. "During those 2 years your mother was missing, I… got married to a woman named Lauren Reed. We later found out that she was part of the Covenant. I killed her when she tried to kill your mother."

"Wow, talk about a divorce." Carter muttered.

"We also learned that your grandmother had an affair with Arvin Sloane. She had a child named Nadia. We located Nadia and recruited her to the CIA." Dixon said.

"Anyways, we were just on a normal mission when an enemy agency called Prophet Five ambushed us. I was shot in the chest and pushed over the cliff." Vaughn said. "The rest of my captivity is a bit of a haze…" he trailed off. Sydney silently put her hand over his and smiled.

"We all thought he was dead. There was no way he could have survived that fall without help." Sydney said.

"This is all we really have time for right now." Jack said. Dixon led the children out of the room.

Sydney got up to leave but Jack stopped her. "Sydney, there's something else you need to know."

O O O O O


	6. Another lie, another bank, another enemy

O O O O O 

**Chapter Six: Just another lie, another bank, and another enemy.**

"_There's something you should know."_

"What?" Sydney asked, confused.

"Your mother never killed Vaughn's dad." Jack said. "Vaughn's father had gotten in some trouble and Irina agreed to help him out in exchange for his newborn daughter. The KGB had wanted Irina's daughter, but she wouldn't let them have her. So instead, Irina took Vaughn's sister, Evangeline, to the KGB. Bill took Nadia to the orphanage. She faked his death."

"But my father didn't leave my sister all alone." Vaughn said. "He kept an eye out on her and with Jack's help, infiltrated the KGB and got my sister out. They've been traveling a lot now, staying away from Prophet Five."

"You knew all of this?" Sydney asked Vaughn. "You knew all along and never told me?"

"No!" Vaughn snapped. "Your father just told me today."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sydney asked, turning to her father.

"Because I knew that this information would only make you trust your mother more. She is not a woman who can be trusted." Jack said coolly.

"So why are you telling us this now?" Sydney asked.

"They've been conducting an investigation regarding Prophet Five. They've gathered a substantial amount of intel that they believe we could use. Bill still has to contact me, but we want to set up a meet so we can get that intel." Jack said.

"What do you want us to do?" Vaughn asked.

"Bill said that he has a safe deposit box in France. In order to access it, we'll have to take a small sample of your DNA. Inside that box will be some of their work." Jack answered.

"And how do you know this isn't some sort of trap. You could be sending Vaughn right to Prophet Five." Sydney argued.

"Trust me Sydney. If there is anyone I trust more than you, it's the Vaughns." Jack said. "We'll be flying over France in a few hours. We'll make a stop there to refuel and I've got to check in with some contacts. That should give you enough time to retrieve the intel and get back to the plane."

"You can't be serious." Sydney said. "Vaughn has just been through some major surgery. It's not safe for him to move around."

"I know that. I've got a vial of Vaughn's blood from the hospital." Jack said, reaching into his breast pocket and handing Sydney a small vial full of red liquid. "I'm sending you and Dixon."

O O O O O 

Sydney stormed out of the conference room after her father had finished. She was angry at him for waiting so long to tell them the truth.

Carter was sitting with his friends and their fathers, while Isabelle was sitting with her friends. They looked up as Sydney came into the compartment.

Vaughn followed closely behind her, listening to her mutter angrily in Russian.

"Syd." He grabbed her arm.

"What!" She hissed.

"Hey, I'm on your side, remember?" Vaughn said gently.

"I know that… I just can't believe that he kept something like this from us. Do you know how much this could have changed things?" Sydney said.

"I know…" Vaughn sighed. "Believe me, I know. But right now all I want to focus on is being back here with you and with our kids." He grinned. "I can't believe that. We have kids."

"Yeah." Sydney said softly, returning the grin. "And I'm sure you're happy to hear that Carter loves hockey." Vaughn chuckled. "He'd just gotten back from practice when we were taken." Sydney's face fell.

"Hey," Vaughn lifted his hand to her face and slowly lifted it so he could look into her eyes. "All that matters is that we got out of this alive."

Sydney nodded. She and Vaughn took seats next to Carter and Isabelle.

"So, you're our dad, huh?" Carter said

"Yeah." Vaughn said awkwardly.

"Well… nice to meet you." Carter stuck out his hand.

Vaughn slowly shook it.

"I'm Carter and I guess I'm your son. I'm turning 16 next February."

"And I'm Isabelle. I'm turning 14 in December." She smiled. "Though, unlike Carter, I go for the less formal method of a hug."

Vaughn chuckled and gave his daughter a hug.

Dixon soon went over to Sydney. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get ready."

Sydney kissed Vaughn goodbye and went to change for the mission.

Vaughn and his children sat in awkward silence for a few moments before he spoke. "So, you play hockey?"

Carter nodded and the two fell into a deep conversation about their favorite sport. 15 minutes later, the plane began to descend.

"Are we back in Tucson already?" Isabelle asked, looking out the window.

"No, we're just refueling in France." Vaughn answered.

"We're in **France**?" Isabelle squeaked. "No way! I've always wanted to go here."

Vaughn chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We'll have to come back some time and explore the city. You'd love it."

"You've been here before, dad?" Isabelle asked, trying out the name.

Vaughn smiled at his new title. "I was born here. My family lived here until I was 18." He replied.

"So we're French?" Isabelle asked. "I never knew we were French."

Dixon and Sydney walked through the compartment shortly after they had landed. Sydney was dressed in a black tailored suit with a light blue shirt and high heels. She also wore a short blond wig.

"Mom?" Carter asked, baffled by her new appearance.

Sydney sighed. "I'm just going on a little retrieval mission, nothing big." She said softly. She gave Carter and Isabelle hugs. She indicated for Vaughn to follower her as she walked into the next compartment where Dixon was waiting for her.

As Vaughn slowly got up, he felt a small pain in his side, but he just ignored it. Sydney smiled when he walked in and wrapped her arms around his neck. Vaughn leaned in and gave her a small kiss.

"Nervous?" He asked, placing his hands on her waist.

"Never." She grinned.

"You'd better go." Vaughn said reluctantly.

Sydney nodded and disentangled herself from him. She grabbed her purse and exited the plane before she had a chance to run back into Vaughn's arms.

Vaughn smiled as he watched her walk away, already portraying her alias. He knew that things were going to work out.

O O O O O 

Sydney and Dixon walked purposefully into the Hanso Foundation Bank.

"We would like to see the manager." Dixon said in a perfect French accent, flashing his fake id.

The receptionist nodded and quickly dialed a number. Minutes later, the man stepped out of the nearby elevator and greeted them.

"Welcome, welcome. My name is Hugh McIntyre." The short, fat, balding man shook their hands enthusiastically.

"Henry McGregor. And this is my business partner, Alicia Allende." Dixon said.

"I understand you are here to pick up a few files for a client."

"Yes, and I cannot stress the urgency to make this a quick as possible. We have a flight to catch." Sydney said in a snobbish British accent.

"I understand." The man said, nodding his head. "Follow me and we'll take you to our private vaults."

They walked down a series or corridors before they reached the vault. The manager pressed his palm up against the scanner and looked into the ocular identification device. Ther was a short hiss and the door swung open.

"Now, what number vault is it?" he asked.

"L11." Dixon said gruffly.

"Alright, here we are." The man said, reaching the box. "The card please."

Sydney handed him the card the CIA had forged. McIntyre pressed the code and then swiped the card. There was a soft beep and he slid the compartment open. He handed the box to Dixon who set it on the table, opening it slowly.

Dixon cursed loudly in French. "There is nothing here!" he hissed. "What is this? We have done a lot of work to ensure that our client's property be protected and it just disappears!"

"I… that's not possible… this vault have the highest security. We have cameras, alarms… everything. I don't understand how this could happen."

"Well I suggest you start trying to understand or our client will be forced to move his business elsewhere." Dixon said. He checked his watch and pulled out his cell phone. "I will have to inform him immediately of the situation."

"No, no, no, no, no." McIntyre said quickly. "We will have this taken care of. Don't worry we will find the documents."

"I trust that you do that. We only have 15 minutes until we have to leave for our plane. I will have to call the pilot and tell him we are running late." Dixon punched in the numbers for Marshall.

McIntyre pulled out a small green and orange handkerchief and wiped his sweaty forehead. Dixon walked to the end of the long vault, for a little more privacy. This was Sydney's cue to approach McIntyre.

"Excuse me… Hugh." She said, fluttering her eyes. She made sure that McIntyre couldn't see anything Dixon was doing. "I read somewhere that you had just moved some things from this room down to Vault 5 on request. Would it be possible that our clients manuscripts were accidentally taken down to the vault?"

"Well, yes, that is a possibility. How did you know about the move?" He asked suspiciously.

"Mr. McIntyre, do you really think that I wouldn't keep tabs on the bank? Our client is very strict when it comes to security." Sydney laughed.

"I see." He scratched his head. "Well I don't see how that would happen, but it's possible. I'll go and check in Vault 5 right now. But I'm afraid that you will have to step out of the vault until I get back."

Dixon banged his hand on the vault. This was the sign they had composed to show that Marshall had temporarily shut down the cameras in his vault. They had exactly 90 seconds.

"I don't care what they say. We can't leave until I get these files. You have to understand that." Dixon paused, pretending to listen to the pilot's reply. "WHAT! We have to wait for another plane? But that would take hours…"

"Um… maybe it's best if we just stay put. My associate has a bit of a temper." Sydney said sheepishly.

"Yes, good idea. I'll have to send the guard down here though." He pulled out his cell phone and summoned the guards as he walked briskly to the next vault.

During the whole conversation, Dixon had made his way over to box B7E4W. It was amongst the more sophisticated safes, which required a DNA sample. He slipped his finger into the vial of Vaughn's blood and brought it to the lock when he banged his hand against the wall. After a few seconds of silence, a small click was heard. He waited until McIntyre was out of sight before he pulled out the files and slipped them into his jacket.

Seconds later the guards walked in. "You don't have to be here. We're leaving." Dixon said abruptly, walking quickly toward the exit. They had almost reached it when gunshots rang out. Dixon was hit in the shoulder.

"Henry!" Sydney shouted.

"I'm ok, let's get out of here." The two agents ran out to the car.

The sun was beginning to set and cars littered the street in the rush hour. This was the absolute worst time for a shooting. An unfamiliar brunette stepped out of the shadows and fired at Sydney. She ducked, avoiding the bullets. Sydney pulled out her gun and took a few shoots before civilians blocked her target.

"We're never going to get out of here in that car." Dixon shouted. The car was surrounded by other cars.

"Plan B." Sydney shouted. She jumped onto the seat of an awaiting motorcycle. As soon as Dixon was seated, she took off, weaving through the maze off cars.

O O O O O 


	7. The Traitor

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. Here's the next chapter.

**Chapter Seven: The Traitor**

"Who was that woman?" Sydney asked. She was sitting in the medical compartment of the plane where Dixon was getting stitched up.

"Kelly Peyton. We believe she's working with Prophet Five." Dixon said.

Sydney nodded, remembering the quick briefing her father had given her on the plane just before they had headed to the bank.

"How do you think they knew we were coming?" She asked, pulling her knees up to her chin. She had changed back into something more casual.

"Prophet Five is huge. They might have a tap or our phone lines. Or they might have a tap on Bill Vaughn's phone line. But believe me, if there is a bug in the office, Jack and Marshall will find it."

Jack had been irritated that someone had found out about the files. He had immediately tasked Marshall and about half of the security department to start looking into a potential leak.

Sydney stayed silent for a moment, debating whether to ask Dixon about what was bothering her. "Dixon, you have kids, do Carter and Isabelle seem… ok?"

"What do you mean, Syd?"

"Well, when my mother… Irina was holding us captive… they didn't seem scared at all. They were more mad than afraid… and in the briefing, I just expected more of an angry reaction. But they just sat there. And they just accepted Vaughn. I'm not saying I'm not thrilled that they're okay with him, it's just, I was so mad at my father when I learned the truth, I could barely stand being in the same room with him." Sydney said, revealing what had troubled her.

"Syd, they've been through a lot. Their emotions have probably just been overloaded. It's a lot to take in." Dixon said, trying to dismiss the subject.

"When I think about it, none of them were scared." Sydney said, softly. "They were… calm."

"Syd, if it really bothers you that much you should talk to your father." Dixon said.

The plane soon touched down in L.A., where they were all escorted to the JTF.

Kendall greeted them. "Jack, Director Chase is waiting for you and the others." He turned to the civilians. "If you would please follow me, we have some paperwork for you to fill out." Carter, Isabelle, and their friends were led away to another room.

"Sydney, Vaughn this way please." Jack said, leading them to a large conference room. Dixon followed closely behind them.

Nadia, Weiss, Marshall, Rachel, and Tom had arrived a few hours earlier and were already seated in the conference room, along with other high ranking officials. For the next few hours, they sat in debriefing.

"Miss Bristow, we know that you have only been doing a little or encryption for us, and Mr. Vaughn… your situation is self-explanatory, but we would all like to have you back in the field. This particular case could use your help."

Sydney glanced over at Vaughn and her father. She wasn't sure she wanted to risk everything. Vaughn felt the same.

Vaughn finally spoke up. "I think that we both want to help out on the case, but being a field operative isn't the best choice for either of us at the moment." Sydney nodded.

"We understand that." Dixon said. "We won't assign you to go on any missions."

"We'll have to talk about it… Carter and Isabelle should have some sort of say in this." Sydney said.

"I understand. But please get back to us as soon as possible."

Grant Bauer and his son Brad were the first to finish all of the paperwork. They sat in the waiting area to be transported back to Tucson. Soon Alicia, Kristen, and Massie joined them.

Massie scratched furiously at her hand. It had been bothering her ever since she had awoken in the cell. Kristen handed her a soda and rubbed her own hand.

"Does your hand feel funny too?" Alicia asked, joining them.

"Yeah, a little." Massie said, frowning slightly.

"Well it's probably just some rash or something. That cell was pretty dirty."

The girls nodded and dismissed the subject.

Jacob and Liam Vanderfield walked toward the waiting room. "Go on in son, I'm just going to call your mother." Jacob said.

"Whatever." Liam said, walking away.

Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tattered business card. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening before he dialed the number.

"Hello?" A deep male voice answered him.

"It's me. I need to speak with Irina." Jacob whispered.

"You idiot!" The man hissed. "Don't use her name." There was silence as the phone was being handed off.

"Where are you Jacob?" She asked coldly.

"I'm in the Joint Task Force in L.A."

"Fool! You are lucky we have taken the correct security precautions, otherwise you would be exposed." Irina said.

"Well, I've done what you've wanted… when am I…"

"When the time is right. Patience. We've got to make sure that your product works." There was a soft click as she hung up.

"Wait. You said that… my wife…" Vanderfield stuttered.

"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again." The automated voice answered back.

He sighed, hung up the phone and headed to where his son was sitting.

"So what did mom said?" Liam asked.

"The company's having some problems over there with the communication system. She might have to stay another week." Jacob said.

"She's on some insanely long business trip. Are you sure she's not just over in New York partying?" Liam asked, propping his feet up on the chair opposite him.

"Yes, I'm sure of that." Jacob said, trying to add in a small chuckle. But instead it sounded like a sob.

"Are you ok dad?" Liam asked, absentmindedly rubbing his sore hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just getting a cold." Jacob lied, adding a cough for emphasis.

Irina sat in the underground compound, hidden in the Ural Mountains. She was carefully watching several screens, monitoring the progress of her latest experiment.

"How are we doing?" She asked the doctor.

"Everything seems to be running smoothly." The man answered back, scribbling somethings on his clipboard.

"Good. How soon until we can begin the next stage?" She questioned.

"Not for a few more days. We've got to be sure that their blood pressure stays normal and that they don't get an infection." The man replied.

_Flashback_

_Irina walked into the hospital wing of the compound. "Are you ready?" She asked Dr. Thomas Werner Mittelwork._

"_Yes, we have everything prepared." D. Mittelwork said._

_Irina signaled the guards. They wheeled in Isabelle, Carter, Brad Bauer, Liam Vanderfield, Alicia Rivera, Kristen, and Massie. _

"_Take Isabelle and Carter into Room 47." Irina instructed._

_Soon Sydney, Grant Bauer, and Jacob Vanderfield were moved in._

"_Wait, take this him to the other room." Irina said, gesturing to Mr. Vanderfield._

_2 hours later 9 unconscious, unfortunate people were moved into the holding cell. They were still under the anesthesia and wouldn't wake for a few hours._

_When they awoke, they all felt drowsy. Each of them gently rubbed their hands, which were unusually sore._

_From the observation room, Irina turned to Dr. Mittelwork. "Let's see if what they gave us works."_

_The doctor nodded and pressed a series of buttons. There was a small buzz and then a series of green lights went on._

"_Perfect. Turn her dosage down." Irina said, pointing to Sydney's screen. "Monitor his vitals." She pointed to another person. Slowly increase the dose everyday, slowly enough so they don't notice. Inform our friend that the deal has been sealed." She turned to leave before adding. "But don't tell him what we did to his son."_

"_Very well." Mittelwork said. He entered the other cell. "We are pleased with your cooperation. You can join your son now."_

_A guard released Jacob Vanderfield from his cuffs and tossed him into the other cell._

_End Flashback_


	8. The Attack

Chapter Eight: The Attack

Sydney and Vaughn finally stepped out of the conference room. They walked in silence until they found Carter and Isabelle.

"Isabelle, Carter, can we talk to you?" Sydney asked. Her two children got up and followed her and Vaughn into an empty room. "Your father and I have been offered positions here. We thought we'd get your opinion before we made a decision.

"So you're going to work here? As an agent? Like go on missions where you almost get killed?" Isabelle asked.

"Sweetheart, we wouldn't be doing any field work." Sydney said.

"Well… I guess if you guys aren't in any more danger… that would be ok." Carter said after a few minutes of silence.

"Are you serious?" Isabelle shrieked. "You're practically giving them permission to go out and get themselves killed!"

"Bella, we've just been kidnapped by our own grandmother! I don't think we can put our parents in any more danger!" Carter said, raising his voice.

After a few more minutes of silence, Sydney was about to suggest that they talk bout it over lunch when Isabelle spoke up. "I guess he's right."

Back in her hideout in the Ural Mountains, Irina smiled. She had been listening to the whole scene play out from a bug embedded in Isabelle's skin. "Good. We can now control their emotions."

"Well technically, we aren't controlling their emotions." A short man with curly red hair said. "We're merely _influencing_ the brain cells into thinking that they feel more relaxed."

Irina ignored the remark and turned to Dr. Mittelwork. "Start Stage 2. I want to have all of Isabelle's preferences changed by the end of the day, to keep them… on their toes."

The doctor nodded and flipped a switch. He returned to his seat and turned up the sound.

"Let's go get some lunch." Sydney said. "We can go get some Mexican food."

"Actually, mom, can we get Chinese?" Isabelle asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

Sydney stared at her daughter. "Are you sure? You've always hated Chinese food."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I really want some egg rolls." Isabelle said. Suddenly she twirled around to face her parents. "Wait, if you're working here, does that mean that we have to move?"

"Isabelle, I know this is a huge change, but after we get this organization shut down, we can go back to Arizona." Sydney said.

"That's so not fair! How do you know it won't take years… decades even to stop some stupid organization?" Isabelle asked. "You're going to ruin my LIFE if we move!" she hollered before pushing open the door and running off.

"Isabelle!" Sydney shouted.

"I'll go talk to her." Carter said, walking toward his sister.

Sydney stood there frustrated, confused, and concerned when she felt Vaughn's arms wrap around her body.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. We'll work this out." He whispered into her ear.

Sydney's eyes began to water. His voice was just too soft, too sweet to actually be real. His touch was too comforting for him to actually be here. Tears began to slide down Sydney's face as she began to believe that the couple of days were just a dream.

"Syd what's wrong?" Vaughn asked, turning her to face him. Her eyes were full of fear as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"This… this can't be real." She finally sobbed out. "You… you're alive…. you can't be alive…"

"Sh… Syd, I'm really here. I'm alive. Baby, it's ok, I'm here." Vaughn said, trying to comfort her.

"No, no, no, no." Sydney said. "All of my dreams were like this. Any minute now, you're going to disappear and I'm going to be alone again."

"Syd, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you again. I'm going to stay here." Vaughn stroked her hair.

"Promise?" Sydney asked, sounding like a 5-year-old.

"I promise Sydney." Vaughn whispered.

He wiped away the tears from her eyes and kissed her. She buried her head in his chest and they stood there, in an odd sort of peace, finally back in each other's arms.

"I was trying to be strong." Sydney whispered. "I didn't want the kids to see me crying…"

"I know. It's ok. I'm here." Vaughn said.

"You're here." She repeated, hugging him tighter. She momentarily forgot about her worry about the kid's strange reactions and just focused on how good it was to be back in Michael Vaughn's arms.

The shrill sound of the telephone ringing startled Arvin Sloane out of his reverie. He quickly picked it up and cleared his throat.

"Arvin Sloane."

"Mr. Sloane, we have successfully finished Stage 1. We are now proceeding with Stage 2. It should be complete within the hour." The voice on the other end said. "We're almost done changing her 5 main preferences."

"Good. That should be enough to keep them busy for awhile. What about Mrs. Vanderfield?"

"We sent her to L.A. as soon as we heard from Peyton about France. She should arrive within the hour."

"Perfect. I'll alert you when she arrives." Sloane said as he hung up.

Jack and Dixon walked into the interrogation room. Lauren Reed and Julian Sark were chained to the chairs, unconscious.

"I think I can handle this." Jack said to Dixon.

Dixon held his gaze for a moment before nodding. "I'll be with Marshall examining the files from France."

Jack took a large syringe and injected Lauren with the liquid. As she slowly opened her eyes, Jack took another syringe and stabbed her in the neck.

Lauren's bloodcurdling scream echoed in the cell. Sark turned his head toward her as he struggled to wake.

Jack rolled up his sleeves and reached for another instrument. He was prepared to torture both of them until their throats were so sore from screaming that they were coughing up blood. He was ready to do anything to cause them as much pain as they had inflicted on his daughter.

Anything to find his ex-wife.

"What have we got so far Marshall?" Dixon asked as he walked into

"From the research on these files, we know the main players in Prophet Five. Sark, Lauren, Irina, some guy named Dr. Mittelwork, and an unknown benefactor that has been funding their experiments. They seemed very interested in genetic mutation. There's a document in here that says that they're successfully mutated a human being so that they're immune to a series of diseases like chicken pox, measles, and even the flu. It's amazing… insane ofcourse, but still a fascinating idea…" Marshall said.

"Do we have any idea what they're working on right now?" Dixon asked.

"No, not at the moment. I still have to decode about 5 more pages but I doubt something that important would be encrypted in something this easy to decrypt." Marshall said.

Dixon turned to the other 2 people in the room. "Weiss and Nadia, I want you two to start looking into what they might be working on and who this mystery benefactor is. And if you find Sydney and Vaughn, ask them what their decision is."

A shower of bullets broke through the glass panels near the entrance of the JTF center. A chorus of screams erupted as people dropped to the ground for cover. A few agents drew their guns but where gunned down.

The masked invaders headed directly to where Isabelle, Carter, and their friends where waiting. A man grabbed Isabelle's arm and began to drag her out.

"Help!" she screamed. "Mom!" She kicked at her attackers to no avail. One of the men squeezed her wrist tightly.

Nadia and Weiss grabbed their guns and ran over to Isabelle's aid. Nadia shot the masked man in the arm. He immediately let Isabelle drop to the floor and rushed out of the building. There were too many people in their line of fire, so Weiss holstered his gun and bent to help the frightened teen up.

The whole situation was over within minutes, much to everyone's surprise. The intruders rushed out of the building after only 5 minutes. Vaughn and Sydney soon emerged. Isabelle ran to her mother's arms and started to cry.

The building was buzzing with activity, as people checked for wounded and dead. Surprisingly, the men had only used tranquilizer darts, so no one was seriously injured.

Dixon walked into the room where the civilians were gathered. "I'm sorry if this is going to cause any type of inconvenience, but we're going to have to detain you here. We need to make sure that no bugs or trackers were planted on you during the raid."

"Sir, um… I have the results to the test you ran on the civilians." Marshall said as he rushed to keep up with Dixon. "Ah, it's not good. First, we've found something implanted on each of their hands. I'm still running some tests on that but it seems to be some sort of tracking device. All of the civilians have one, and so do Vaughn and Sydney." He paused to take in a huge breath. "Second, something's up with Isabelle. We've found 2 bugs on her. One implanted under her skin on the back of her neck and the other on her wrist."

"Get Isabelle to somewhere secure. Make sure you have guards with her. I don't want anything else to happen to her." Dixon ordered.


	9. Mrs Vanderfield

O O O O O 

Chapter Nine: Mrs. Vanderfield

Jack halted the interrogation as soon as he heard that Isabelle had been taken into protective custody.

He stood outside the examination room with Sydney and Vaughn, waiting anxiously for the results. The doctor stepped out and addressed the worried family.

"We've been able to successfully remove both of the chips, and we've sent them down to op tech."

Jack nodded and turned to Sydney and Vaughn. "I'm going to head down there and see what they find."

Sydney and Vaughn walked into the hospital room. Isabelle sat up in the bed, drinking some water.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Sydney asked, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Ok, I guess. I'm kinda sleepy." Isabelle answered.

"Then get some sleep. It's ok." Sydney said soothingly. Isabelle slowly closed her eyes and dosed off.

There was a small knock on the door and Nadia entered.

"Hey, how's my niece doing?" She asked Sydney.

"She's doing well, just a little tired." Sydney said quietly. She glanced down at Nadia's left hand. A beautiful diamond graced her ring finger. "Are you married?"

"Yeah, I was going to tell you but…" She sighed. "Yeah, Eric and I have been married for 7 years now."

"That's great." Sydney said, giving her sister a hug, truly happy for her little sister.

"Yeah, and we've got two kids, Abby Sydney Weiss, she's 3, and Chris Michael Weiss, he's turning 6 soon." Nadia said.

"I honestly can't picture Weiss as a father." Vaughn said, smiling.

"Yeah, he's still adjusting." Nadia said with a chuckle.

"Who's still adjusting?" Weiss asked as he pushed the door open. He had two little children clutching each hand.

"Mommy, who's that?" Abby asked pointing her stubby finger at Sydney.

"Abby, this is your Aunt Sydney." She turned to Vaughn. "And… your Uncle Vaughn."

"Oh, the ones in the stories you told us, Daddy?" Chris asked.

"Stories?" Vaughn asked, his eyebrows rising.

Weiss scratched his head. "Yeah, well I started running out of bed time stories so I told them about you guys…" He trailed off sheepishly.

Sydney, Vaughn, and Nadia erupted in laughter and continued to catch up and remember old times.

O O O O O

Carter stood at the doorway of his sister's hospital room. He rubbed the bandage on his hand where the tracker had been placed. He walked in silently and went unnoticed until Abby spoke up. "Uncle Vaughnie, who's that?"

Weiss began to laugh hysterically at his daughter's nickname for Vaughn. 

"That's your cousin Carter." Vaughn said punching Weiss in the arm.

"Cousin?" Carter repeated, puzzled.

"This is your Aunt Nadia, Uncle Weiss, and your cousins Abby and Chris." Sydney explained.

After they exchanged pleasantries, Carter turned to Isabelle, who was now awake. "How ya doing sis?"

"Ok." She answered. "Where are Massie, Alicia, and Kristen?" She asked.

"They're getting looked at." Sydney replied. "We want to make sure that nothing's happened to them either."

The doctor soon entered the room. "Sydney, Vaughn, we need to remove the trackers from you now."

The couple walked out and into the OR next door.

O O O O O

"Why couldn't we have just skipped over this whole thing?" Peyton asked as she paced around the room.

"You need to understand that I know how my ex-husband thinks. He will be so preoccupied with what's going on with Isabelle and the first set of trackers, he won't even have time to realize what's going on with Carter before it's too late." Irina said coldly.

"We've got word from Mr. Sloane." A man said, stepping into the dimly lit room. "Mrs. Vanderfield's about 30 minutes away from the JTF."

"Good. Make sure none of Carter or Isabelle's friends leave the building." Irina said.

"Very well."

O O O O O

"So you're saying that that's all they are, bugs and trackers?" Jack asked.

"Well, yes, sir." Marshall said, fiddling with the devices. "That's all they are. But I have found something in the video feed. Now, it took me awhile, I had to go through some back doors and rewire some…" Jack cleared this throat impatiently. "Right, well I've found that the video feed was rewired to a private computer. I was able to do a trace and its Mr. Vanderfield's personal computer."

"Vanderfield? As in Carter's friend's father?" Dixon asked.

"Yes." Marshall said. "I have no idea why he wanted the feed. I think he might have rerouted it back to someone connected to Prophet Five, but it's virtually impossible to trace this."

"Impossible?" Jack asked.

"Well it could take weeks to find the source." Marshall said

"Then I suggest that you start working on that right now." Jack said before the left the room. "I'm going to pay a visit to Mr. Vanderfield.

O O O O O

"If you don't do exactly what we want you to do, your husband will die." Anna Espinosa said, pressing the gun against Lisa Vanderfield's arm. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Lisa said, choking back tears. "And my son, he will remain unharmed?"

"Of course." Anna smiled. "Just be sure to get into holding. That's all we ask.

O O O O O

Jacob Vanderfield paced near the entrance of the JTF. He stopped to check the time before and continued to pace.

His eyes followed a small yellow cab as it pulled up to the building. A woman stepped out and brushed her dirty blond hair out of the way before running into the building, escaping form the rain.

Jacob ran up to the woman, his wife, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Lisa, oh thank God you're ok."

"Jacob, I was so scared." Lisa murmured. "What happened to your hand? And where's Liam?"

"We were kidnapped. And apparently, they implanted trackers into all of your hands. Liam's in the hospital getting his removed." Jacob said, putting his arm around his wife's waist. An odd look of fear crossed her face.

"Mr. Vanderfield, would you please come with us." Jack said, walking up to the couple with a few guards in tow.

"What's going on?" He asked, as handcuffs were placed around his wrists.

"I'd like for you to tell me." Jack said as he led the way toward the interrogation room.

O O O O O

"Why did you hack into the security system of my daughter's house?" Jack asked a bound Jacob Vanderfield in the dark interrogation room.

"I… I… can't tell you that." Vanderfield said.

"You know, that's what they all say. But in the end, they always learn that I can cause you more pain then anyone else." Jack said, resting his elbows on the table and lowering his voice. "I am going to get some answers." Jack reached across the table and grabbed a sharp knife. He slowly brought it up to the man's eye. "The only thing you control is how much you want it to hurt."

"Ok, ok, ok." Vanderfield said. "My wife, Lisa, she was kidnapped. Someone contacted me. They said that if I told anyone, they would kill her. Even my son just thought that she's been on a business trip in New York."

"Who contacted you and what did they want?" Jack asked, pressing the knife harder against Vanderfield's skin."

"I don't know who they are." Vanderfield said. "But they wanted trackers and bugs. My company specializes in them."

"How many did you give them?" Jack asked.

"4 bugs and 12 trackers." Jacob replied, sweat sliding down his forehead.

Jack pressed the knife harder into the frightened man's skin, drawing some blood. Vanderfield inhaled quickly and hissed in pain.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked menacingly.

"Positive." Vanderfield squeaked out.

"Very well. Take Mrs. Vanderfield into custody." Jack said.

"Wait, you've got to believe me!" Vanderfield said.

"I do believe you." Jack replied coldly.

O O O O O

Lisa Vanderfield was taken into medical and examined for any bugs. They found 2 more bugs and another tracker.

"Put her and her son into holding. I want the Bauers and the three girls to be put in holding as well." Jack ordered.

O O O O O


	10. Death

Hey guys, sorry about they wait. Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

ooooo

Chapter Ten: Death

"Why are we being held in here like terrorists?" Lisa Vanderfield asked. "Please, let me see my husband. I need him to know that I'm ok."

An hour later, and after much consideration, Jacob Vanderfield stood on the other side of the glass partition.

Lisa walked up toward him and pressed her hand against the glass.

"Don't worry; they'll let you out soon." Jacob said.

"Jacob." Lisa whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "I want you to know that it's not your fault. I want you to know that I love you."

Jacob stared at her in confusion. "What are you…?"

"Shhhh." Lisa said, silencing him. "Back away from the window." She said quickly. "Back away from the window."

"What?" Jacob asked.

She looked at him with sad eyes and sat down next to her son. "I'm sorry."

Those were her final words. Because at that moment, 7 bombs went off and 7 civilians were killed instantly by the bombs that had been implanted deep underneath their skin.

Jacob was knocked off his feet and screamed as he watched his son and wife be blown up. He was soon put out of his misery as a small chunk of the wall collapsed, falling on top of him. He was dead.

Massie, Kristen, and Alicia where sitting in the holding cell next door, talking to Isabelle who was sitting in a wheelchair in the corridor with a guard when they were killed. Isabelle screamed in horror as the glass exploded and her friends' blood was splattered all over her body. One of the guards jumped in front of her as the flames licked the ceiling.

Carter had been talking to Brad, who was sitting in a similar cell with his father, when the bombs went off. Carter fell back on the floor, crying out in pain as glass showered down on him. He rolled over to protect his face and saw Brad's bloody, severed hand lying on the floor.

O O O O O

Meanwhile, a couple of men posing as agents ran into the wing where Lauren and Sark were being held.

"There's a bombing going on. They want all agents out in front incase there's another shooting." One of the men said.

The guards looked skeptic at first but after a series of loud booms, they ran out to help. The 2 imposters smiled.

"That was just too easy." The other man said.

They opened the cell door and immediately released Sark and Lauren from the chains.

"Finally, I was wondering when you guys would finally get here." Sark sneered. He limped slightly as he walked out of the door.

"Shut up." The man hissed. "You should be glad this bombing was already staged or you'd still be in that cell."

"Are you so sure about that?" Lauren said, rubbing her side. "Don't underestimate our power."

"Let's get out of here and save the chitchat for later." Sark snapped.

They had reached the end of the corridor and turned the corner when they came face to face with Jack Bristow.

"Did you really think it would be so easy?" Jack said as he pulled the trigger on his gun. He immediately killed the two imposters. Sark and Lauren tried to run but where also gunned down.

Jack went over to them and checked their pulses. He pulled out his cell phone. "Dixon, they did try to escape. The intruders are dead. Sark and Lauren are both unconscious but Lauren's worse off."

"I'll send a medic in now."

O O O O O

Sydney and Vaughn where just walking out of the OR when the bombs went off. They ran into Weiss and Nadia, who were running in the opposite direction.

"What's going on?" Sydney shouted.

"The civilians, they must have had bombs implanted in them. They've all just blown up." Weiss said.

"What?" Vaughn shouted.

"The kids! They were in visitation." Sydney said.

"Let's go." Vaughn said running toward the stairs.

"Vaughn, stop." Sydney shouted grabbing his hand. "You can't go running around like that. You might break some of your stitches."

Vaughn looked like he was about to argue but just nodded his head and followed her slowly down the stairs.

They found Isabelle, Carter, and Mr. Vanderfield lying in the hallway, shards of glass surrounding them. They were all sobbing.

"Daddy!" Isabelle shouted immediately. "I saw them… I was just talking to them and they just…"

"It's gonna be ok sweetheart." Vaughn whispered as he crouched down next to her.

While Vaughn tended to Isabelle, Sydney walked to where Carter was sprawled out on the floor. He was staring at a hand on the floor.

"Carter." Sydney slowly turned his head so he was looking at her.

"Mom. I… I saw them…" he trailed off and stared at the hand.

"Carter… I'm so sorry, honey."

"Dad?" Isabelle's shrill, panic filled voice echoed in the room. "Daddy, you're bleeding."

Sydney's head snapped over to look at Vaughn. A bright red stain of blood was soaking through his shirt. There was a mall pool of blood at his feet. She left Carter and rushed to his side.

"I think, I think I broke some of the stitches." Vaughn said, painfully lifting up his shirt.

Sydney ran her hand along his stitches. She glanced over to her father, who had just entered the room. "We need to get him to the hospital."

Carter sat forgotten on the floor staring at the hand of a friend.

O O O O O

"Is it working?" Irina asked.

"Yes. They've been neglecting Carter. First it was Isabelle. And now their attention will be on Vaughn. They won't notice the small changes we will be making. And he will slowly feel like he's not as important and that they don't care about him as much. That will leave him vulnerable to our… recruiting." Dr. Mittelwork said.

"Perfect." Irina smiled.

O O O O O

Sydney stood nervously outside Vaughn's hospital room. She peered in through the window and could see the doctors frantically working on him.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around. She smiled as a familiar friend wrapped his arms around her.

"Will!"

"Hey, Syd."

"What are you doing here?" Sydney asked.

"Your father contacted me after you were kidnapped. I've been under close surveillance ever since. He asked me to come in and help decrypt some stuff." Will said.

"You're still an analyst?" Sydney asked.

"I only do somethings every once in a while." Will replied.

Sydney glanced down at his hand and noticed the ring. "You're married too?"

"Yeah, I married that painter, Libby 2 years ago. She's 7 months pregnant." Will said with a goofy smile.

"That's great." Sydney replied, her smile growing. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Soon hopefully. So Vaughn's really alive, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm really worried about him though." Sydney sighed. "But the doctors should be able to get him stitched up so it's really no big deal."

Syd and Will continued to talk until the doctors came out.

"Agent Bristow, can we talk in private?" The man said.

"It's alright, he's a friend. We can talk in front of him." Sydney reassured the man.

"Well, I have to tell you things took an unexpected turn." The doctor paused. "Agent Vaughn's wound seems to have been infected."

"How bad is it?" Sydney asked.

"We caught it in an earlier stage, but it's an odd infection, something we've never seen before." The doctor glanced down at his pager. "I think it would be a good idea if a team was sent back to the compound in Russia to try and find the source of the infection."

"That's not possible, the facility was bombed." Sydney said. "Are you sure that he got it there?"

"We're pretty positive. At the stage the infection's at, he couldn't have gotten it any less than 1 week ago." The doctor said.

"How did he break his stitches? He only ran a few steps." Sydney said.

"The thing is, he didn't break his stitches." The doctor explained. "They were eaten away by a chemical. We've just sent his blood work to the lab for some testing. We should get the results in 48 hours."

"Thank you, I'll talk to my father and see what we can do about the infection." Sydney said.

ooooo


End file.
